China - Wangshi Yuan garden (CN-58310)

I received this wonderful card last week and I would probably never guess it was showing a UNESCO site, if there wasn't a UNESCO WHS logo on the back side of this card with explaination in... Spanish :)) I was surprised to read "Vista interior de la Habitación Tiyun del Jardín Wangshi" on a Chinese card :) I wonder, if Spanish is considered to be a language of international communication in China or if there's any other reason, but it was quite complicated to check, which UNESCO site it was. I can't speak Spanish (and I also can't speak Chinese, I think that's not surprising for you) ;), but I understood it was a garden and it's name was Wangshi. Finally, I found out it was one of the 10 Suzhou gardens, which are listed as World Heritage sites.

There's a Japanese garden in my city (I guess that people from Asia could probably tell me many differences between the Chinese and Japanese art of designing gardens and I would be very thankful for such information, as it's often quite difficult to distinguish parts of different Asian cultures for us, Europeans) and I find it very beautiful, even though it's not big, there are just some plants typical for Japan and a bridge built in "Asian" style. Visiting a real Chinese or Japanese garden, designed so well, would be a great experience... Looking at this card I feel want to go through this door :)

CN-58310

The Master of the Nets Garden or Wangshi Yuan (simplified Chinese: 网师园; traditional Chinese: 網師園; pinyin: Wǎngshī Yuán) is among the finest gardens in China. Recognized with nine other Suzhou gardens as United Nations World Heritage sites, it demonstrates Chinese garden designers’ adept skills for synthesizing art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The initial garden was first constructed over 800 years ago and even though its physical form has changed drastically since, the name and spirit of the garden still remain intact. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery. While the garden’s primary uses have varied over time, its ability to inspire visitors intellectually and spiritual remains unchanged. Keen physical architecture combined with poetic and artistic inspirations makes the Master of the Nets garden a unique and incredible garden experience that has stood the test of time.